‘Community’ – ‘Modern Warfare’: Say hello to my little El Tigre!

I wrote a lot about tonight’s “Community” and the show’s love of pop culture and meta references in yesterday’s post. But I have a few specific spoiler points on “Modern Warfare,” coming up just as soon as I wear a diaper for the game…

I’ll leave it to someone else to catalog the many, many, many specific references to action and horror movies contained within “Modern Warfare,” though my favorite was probably Senor Chang simultaneously channeling both Chow-Yun Fat in “Hard Boiled” and Pacino in “Scarface.”

But the big development in this episode, beyond a lot of hilarity and spot-on parody directed by Justin Lin of “Fast & Furious” fame, was Jeff and Britta finally not only hooking up, but having sex in the library. And after all the debate and complaining we’ve had about this inevitable event – debate and complaining that the “Community” writers are clearly aware of, as reflected in all the jokes about how the rest of the study group is sick of them – I imagine people are going to want to talk about that as much as about Greendale turning into the set of “28 Days Later.”

Me? I think I’m okay with it. Not only was the set-up perfect – given the apocalyptic feel of the paintball tournament, Britta was essentially having sex with what she thought of as the last man on earth – but the way the show has handled these two characters, both separately and together, since the early part of the season, has me feeling confident that Dan Harmon and company know what they’re doing. Recent episodes like last week’s “The Art of Discourse” have done a really strong job with them as a comic duo.

I’m sure you could argue they’ve only been more effective because the show stopped pushing the romantic tension angle – and I will certainly not disagree with anyone who says Joel McHale has much better romantic chemistry with both Alison Brie and Lauren Stamile as Professor Slater – but “Community” does not strike me as a show that has a plan and stubbornly sticks to it in the face of all evidence that it’s a bad idea. This is a show that, like its characters, is open to adapting. After Troy and Abed’s “La Biblioteca” rap proved so winning, the writers kept putting those two characters together, even though the first few episodes had suggested that Pierce was meant to be Troy’s comic foil. When Britta began to come across as a smug hipster killjoy, the writers steered into the skid and made that into the character’s defining comic trait. And when it was obvious that the Jeff/Britta tension wasn’t getting over with viewers, the show backed away from it.

So if they’ve decided to Go There now, I believe they have a good reason for doing so. That, or it was just a one-off gag to tie into the zombie paintball world, and Jeff and Britta will actually be able to keep their “It didn’t happen” promise.

Either way, screamingly funny episode, not as emotionally rich as some others they’ve done this season, but definitely a favorite.

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Eveytime Jeff and Britta need to release the tension, they need to do a paintball fight episode, that was to much fun! There are plenty more scifi or action movies to rip off of! Next time, make it a Terminator setting!

By: klg19

05.07.2010 @ 1:49 AM

They did, didn’t they? When Abed said his variation of “Come with me if you want to live…”?

By: Bobo

05.07.2010 @ 7:31 PM

“Come with me if you don’t want paint on your clothes.”

By: Cody

05.07.2010 @ 12:48 AM

How did that NOT end with Jeff waking up from his nap? With the way Community loves cliches, I just kept waiting and waiting for the “It was all just a dream” line from Jeff…Great episode though, very funny.

By: sepinwall

05.07.2010 @ 1:36 AM

If there is one movie trope that I don’t believe can be livened up even by the “Community” writers, it’s “It was all a dream.”

By: thefncrow

05.07.2010 @ 4:50 AM

@sepinwall, It’s been done, albeit in a different medium (comics). Check out Grant Morrison’s run on Animal Man.

Now, it only works because GM takes the whole thing meta to such a level as to completely destroy any vestige of the fourth wall, but that’s instrumental in how he makes it work.

Short of going that route, which certainly wouldn’t be good for Community, I certainly haven’t seen anyone else pull that off successfully.

By: doublesuited77

05.07.2010 @ 1:15 AM

wow… just wow… one of the funniest eps of anything i’ve seen in a long, long time and i don’t even watch action movies.

wifey nearly lost it

By: Mandy

05.07.2010 @ 11:18 AM

I couldn’t name what movies they were riffing on either, but still, funniest thing I’ve seen in a while. Classic.

By: jonnyfive

05.07.2010 @ 12:34 PM

This is what I agree with in terms of this episode and reference humor.

Sure there are references to specific things, but really it is just plain funny. Family Guy’s fault is that the reference itself becomes the joke, while Community just uses it to hit on two levels. I didn’t catch most of the references but just the general action movie tropes, which to me are fairly timeless.

By: VisionOn

05.07.2010 @ 1:16 AM

I thought the production values of this episode were fantastic. So much packed into that thirty minutes that it’s hard to list the references thrown around the episode.

Snr Chang pulling the gold pistols was one of the comedy TV highlights of the year for me.

There’s nothing like Community on the air right now. Nobody else has the guts to break from sitcom rules so dramatically and just be both plain ridiculous and clever at the same time, with a cast that seems more than happy to run with the jokes.

Great episode.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 1:33 AM

Maybe I am just on Lost-overload but did anyone else think the music they played when the guys went into the bathroom was the same that Lost used to use when there was a suspenseful scene?

No doubt they used Lost music because they were specifically referring to the Lost convention of armed standoff.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 1:37 AM

That was blindingly good. The surreality of all of it was intoxicating.

There was no shark-jumping with Jeff and Britta. The intensity of the moment does transcend the actual event.

I’m wondering about the poor property masters, who had to paintball everything and then remove it all for the ending. Or they just had the cast do it during practice and takes. Would love to find out how much work this was to pull off.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 7:26 AM

Well, I imagine it was shot out of order, so that all the cleanup could happen when there were much, much fewer people on the clock.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 5:08 PM

I meant to say that the cast made the paintball splatters during rehearsals. [www.nbc.com] partially answers that question–they’re clearly shooting whenever and just leaving it there.

By: WhatTheFDidIDo

05.07.2010 @ 1:49 AM

So f’n hilarious.

Theirs no longer any doubt this is the best absurdist comedy since Arrested Development.

By: AJ

05.07.2010 @ 10:32 AM

and they even did either an AD reference or theft with the ‘TBD’ joke

“Keep fighting, little guy. With your support of the Bluth Foundation, weâ€™ll live in a galaxy where ‘TBA’ does not exist”

By: Xander Spam

05.08.2010 @ 6:03 PM

Glad someone else noticed this! I would have *loved* if they’d made a clear inside joke like Jeff saying “TBD, didn’t I go to a fundraiser for that…” in the background so we can hear it but it’s not the main audio. Community is the closest show to AD in my opinion in terms of witty, snarky, evolving comedy and I think Community’s geek cred would be bolstered by a few well-played AD ties.

By: cadfile

05.07.2010 @ 1:50 AM

Loved all the references. Also loved the tweak at Glee – “write your own songs!” among others.

Loved the shadows on the wall of the urinals from previous people having to take a leak and getting hit.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 3:21 AM

Glee and Community film their shows right next to each other, which is why Harmon likes to tweak Glee.

By: Alex

05.07.2010 @ 2:04 AM

Loved it! I was anti-Jeff/Britta, but the way it happened felt organic. Harmon & Co. wisely made Britta someone beyond “the hot blonde who Jeff wants to nail,” and gave her some personality. After that, the hook-up didn’t feel as obvious.

Also, during the initial post-war scenes, I thought, “This reminds me of ‘The Warriors’ a little”, and lo and behold- we got a “Warriors” reference!

By: butterbeancd

05.07.2010 @ 2:06 AM

I couldn’t even keep up with all the references. Were there any scenes without at least two? Any time they take shots at Glee they gain points in my book. And was the “Sugar Bear” line a shout-out to Chuck?

Regardless, I thought this was one of the funniest half hours of any show I’ve seen in a long time. I’m going to buy this ep on iTunes.

By: srpad

05.07.2010 @ 2:13 AM

This show just gets better and better. When NBC inevitably splits up their current Thursday night line up, I am at the point where I hope Community and P&R stay and the Office and 30 Rock move.

By: ADKid25

05.07.2010 @ 2:27 AM

Yeah, I’m not sure what I can say here aside from the episode was awesome. I have to admit, the biggest laugh for me was in the climactic scene with Jeff and the dean, being such a cheerfully blatant callback to Die Hard. If only the Dean would have fallen out of the building in his chair in slow motion.

But, who am I kidding? That was awesome.

By: dwboston

05.07.2010 @ 2:28 AM

I thought it was better than the Goodfellas homage a few weeks back. One of the best half-hours of TV I’ve seen in a long time. And the Jeff/Britta thing was handled very well. This is quickly becoming my favorite show on TV.

By: JimAbbott'sRightHandMan

05.07.2010 @ 2:33 AM

What kind of paint do they use for paintballs? Jeff seemed to really gloss over his car being covered in paint (before being distracted by the glorious prize).

By: butterbeancd

05.07.2010 @ 2:36 AM

They like this

By: SWG

05.07.2010 @ 2:41 AM

Wow at those above comments. It makes it difficult for me to post my honest take without seeming like I’m trolling or something.

But much as I love the cast and have liked the show earlier in the season this episode confirmed to me that it has devolved into crap. The cast sure seemed to be having the time of their lives, but it was little more than a 30 minute SNL digital short as many recent episodes have been.

They seem to be satisfying some internet fans and some critics, maybe that will be enough. But I don’t think they are making any effort at the kind of building block construction of a world that would make this special and draw in more viewers.

By: VisionOn

05.07.2010 @ 3:53 AM

There’s nothing wrong with it being one long sketch, and there’s nothing wrong with it aiming at a small subsection of the audience.

I’ll take a silly parody episode like this over yet another cookie-cutter sitcom any day of the week. If the show wants to rely solely on the tiny viewing audience that I represent that’s fine too.

Better Off Ted did the same thing. It didn’t compromise it’s absurdist style to gain viewers and that was fine with me. The difference here is that Community has been given the chance to do it regularly and for much longer. If the show keeps going down this path until it gets canceled I’m ready to go. I would rather have had a handful of undiluted Better Off Ted than three seasons of toned-down material aimed at a larger audience.

So I’ll take crazy and non-conformist Community like this for as many episodes as they can give me.

By: SWG

05.07.2010 @ 4:28 AM

What you call nonconformist I call lazy and slapdash. There’s a world of possibilities between being a cookie cutter sitcom and just being a parody and meta reference machine.

By: VisionOn

05.07.2010 @ 4:57 AM

“just being a parody and meta reference machine”

Works for me. Your world of possibilities is still out there, but the fact is there is no other live action show currently doing what Community currently is. If any other show wants to step in a fill the void you are looking at they still can, but in that “world of possibilities” Community has take one of them. You can’t accept there are many possible sitcom variations outside of cookie-cutter-sitcom-land and then decry one that actually fills a slot.

Lazy and slapdash? The entire production tonight was anything but. It was a first-rate execution of style and more importantly and obviously, very, very funny to the Community audience who accept it willingly as a parody machine.

By: Chrissy

05.07.2010 @ 2:59 AM

The green paint explosion with Jeff diving out of the doors of the study room had me crying. This episode wasn’t as balls to the wall funny as some other episodes, but it was about as entertaining as anything I’ve ever seen on TV.

And it really made me want to play paintball.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 4:07 PM

Yea, I don’t think i’ve ever laughed at any sitcom as hard as I laughed at the green Paintball Suicide Bomb that Senor Chang had. This was definitely one of the best 30 minutes of anything i’ve ever seen.

By: Hannah Lee

05.07.2010 @ 3:01 AM

Really enjoyed this episode. I loved how this cast seems to be able to handle anything…this episode had high comedy, character comedy, and faux-serious moments and it all worked.

Plus, there was such physicality in this episode (and I’m not just talking about Joel McHale, or Jeff and Britta), people were literally bouncing off the walls, as shown in the lead photo for this post. And this cast (and the director) handled it with no problem.

Oh, and add me to those who loved the little digs at Glee.

By: besttvshows

05.07.2010 @ 3:08 AM

that was one of the best episodes of television ever created. seriously on the money. i might even retire from watching tv now – nowhere to go but down.

By: Col Bat Guano

05.07.2010 @ 3:10 AM

I enjoyed that episode more than almost anything I’ve seen in awhile. Jeff as John McClain was outstanding. Of course they can’t use the catch line, but that was about the only thing missing.

By: Vincent Chin

05.07.2010 @ 3:14 AM

“Assuming that makes you way grosser.”

Of course Justin Lin had to save the best part for SeÃ±or Chang. After all the hype, I was disappointed for most of the episode, but that last part was worth it. As a film theory and Asian American studies major, Better Luck Tomorrow was a big deal when it debuted. I’ve actually taken courses like Critical Media Literacy and Politics of Gender.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 3:30 AM

Funniest. Ep. Ever.

By: Fritanga

05.07.2010 @ 3:35 AM

It will be interesting to see where they go from here, although I’m sure this Britta/Jeff hookup was just the result of amped-up adrenaline and nothing more. Well, maybe. I sort of wish it never happened – I wanted them to remain the “one that got away” for each other, and that still might happen, but the sex complicates things somewhat. This episode was hilarious nonetheless, but I hope they’re done with “stunt episodes” – except of course for next season, when I hope they do their version of “Cop Rock.”

By: Girly

05.07.2010 @ 3:36 AM

Oh…my…sides…still hurt!

That was pure fun!
Gonna watch it again!

By: Derrick

05.07.2010 @ 3:48 AM

Funniest 1/2 hour I’ve seen on TV in a long long time. Watched it once and immediately went back to the beginning and watched it again. Favorite parts: “Come with me if you don’t want to get paint on your shirt” and the whole scene with Senor Chang, Jeff, and Britta, culminating in the big green explosion.

By: belinda

05.07.2010 @ 4:17 AM

I loved the episode, but I hated the hooking up part utterly and completely – I still don’t see the ‘sexual tension’ that is so apparent to everyone else, so it just felt like a really weird scene for me. Luckily that the rest of the episode was just on fire (though I would have loved a little bit more of Troy or Annie in the ep).

I’m definitely hoping that the hookup is indeed just a one off thing and won’t be mentioned again, because Jeff and Brita are a great comic duo as friends, but are very unamusing when they’re friends with ‘sexual tension’ (at least, they were in the past).

By: Liz D

05.07.2010 @ 5:17 AM

Best Episode EVAR! Never thought they could top Chicken Fingers/Goodfellas, but this is NEVER being deleted from my DVR!

By: RD

05.07.2010 @ 6:12 AM

I loved the episode. But, how could Jeff not say “Yippekaye Mother…” before shooting the dean. I was waiting the whole show for that line. Sigh.

But yes, great episode. I love the absurdity of the show.

By: LJA

05.07.2010 @ 6:30 AM

There should be a law prohibiting Joel McHale from wearing a shirt.

Every time he takes his clothes off, it’s an epic episode of Community.

By: klg19

05.07.2010 @ 11:56 AM

Amen, sister.

By: Oaktown Girl

05.07.2010 @ 7:23 AM

I had so much fun with this episode I don’t even care what becomes of the Jeff-Britta romance/non-romance.

By: Oaktown Girl

05.07.2010 @ 7:23 AM

They like this

By: Oaktown Girl

05.07.2010 @ 7:38 AM

OK, I clicked on the “Like It” icon hoping it would take me so a website with some info about what exactly “Like it” is and what it’s linked to, etc. But it didn’t give me anything except register my “vote” that I like this post, I guess. Anyone know anything about the “Like It” icon? Is it like “Digg”? (Yes, I tried Google and Wiki, so please be nice).

By: tisnolet

05.07.2010 @ 7:45 AM

Anyone catch what Annie yelled when popping out of the garbage in the bathroom?

By: Randoman

05.08.2010 @ 3:17 AM

I think it was something like “Freeze Mama Jamma”

By: Reed

05.07.2010 @ 8:11 AM

This show is too good for NBC not to have canceled it already.

By: Chazz_Goodtimes

05.07.2010 @ 8:19 AM

This episode was so delightfully absurd! Troy greeting Jeff when he arrived at Troy and Abed’s hideout was hilarious. Not sure which action movie that specifically was in reference to (maybe Predator?) but for some reason I kept rewinding that one scene. Donald Glover has been quietly hysterical all season.

As for the Jeff/Britta thing I honestly don’t care. I’m always a little baffled by how invested viewers get into romantic angles in shows with almost no grounding in reality. It doesn’t seem like the writers on this show, 30 rock, arrested development are really asking us to care and I’m more than happy not doing so.

By: Casey

05.07.2010 @ 11:29 PM

“Jeff Winger, you son of a bitch!” That might have been the best-delivered line in television history. Donald Glover is a comic genius.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 10:45 AM

Let me be the first to thank Community for giving Joel McHale another reason to take his clothes off.

By: MrsB

05.07.2010 @ 10:48 AM

Let me be the first to thank Community for giving Joel McHale another reason for taking off his clothes. Holy Crap.

By: jbriggs

05.07.2010 @ 12:12 PM

Great ep. Laugh out loud funny throughout. Best comedy on TV now. Modern Family second, Parks & Rec third.

By: Matt

05.07.2010 @ 1:00 PM

did everyone catch the not so subtle Glee dig on Community last night?[bit.ly]

By: Reagan

05.07.2010 @ 1:26 PM

Loved the episode. Just brilliant. One small touch that was genius was the lens flare, a staple of every ’80s action movie.

By: Jaynee

05.07.2010 @ 1:42 PM

Brilliant. BRILLIANT! I watched it twice in a row and laughed harder the second time because I somehow missed a couple things the first time around. I adore this show. This and “Modern Family” have made me ignore other sitcoms I love – including HIMYM and The Office, which have both been lacking this season the few times I’ve bothered to watch.

By: incident_57

05.07.2010 @ 2:07 PM

Was this the first time there was an extended version of the usually extremely brief theme song over the opening credits?

I can’t remember the last time I laughed as hard as when Senor Chang blew up the library with his paintball atomic bombs. The physical comedy in this episode was off the charts.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 2:29 PM

The opening was definitely longer than normal.

And I was kind of hoping to see Britta walk out of the library covered in green paint.

By: Andrew

05.07.2010 @ 2:46 PM

At least one of the first episodes to follow the pilot used the full credits sequence that returned with “Modern Warfare.”

This was just a tremendously fun episode– topping even “Contemporary American Poultry” as far as reference-dense episodes of Community. What makes the scenario here so funny is how seriously everyone takes it while they’re in the game, but once out realizes how ridiculous they’ve been.

By: kyle

05.07.2010 @ 2:11 PM

i’m in awe. seriously. that was a funny, jaw dropping, hilarious, amazing, (you get the point) treat of an episode.

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 2:36 PM

This was indeed a ton of fun, but my concern is that the ensemble got underused–very little screen time for Pierce, Annie, and Troy. That’s to some degree fitting, since this was an episode that was heavy on the Jeff/Britta and Abed, but one of the joys of the show has been how effectively it’s developed a broad range of comic players with different tools, and they could have used more. For instance, given what we know about how competitive Annie is and her obvious attraction to Jeff (so wrong, yet also so right), they could have played with that a little more.

By: hellojoepark

05.07.2010 @ 2:39 PM

By: Anonymous

05.07.2010 @ 2:40 PM

There were a lot of favorite moments in this episode, but for me personally, having Jeff finally sleep with Britta was the perfect excuse for him to not only have a wife-beater on, but also no shoes! It was a brilliant way to move right into the Die Hard ending.

Also, the actual act of them finally getting it on–while not insignificant–almost seems like a nonevent, which I think I prefer.

By: bratcat

05.07.2010 @ 3:02 PM

wow, this episode rocked! I have to get off this crazy train, every other week I flip flop- one week I hate the meta references, the next I think its pure genius. Didn’t like the Animal House ref. last week but the Goodfellas spoof was the best thing ever, until this week’s action bonanaza. I think I’ll retire my complaints and just go with the flow from now on.

The costumes and set design were top notch. Everybody looked really cool, but in a belevable way. Annie’s trash can helmet was hilarious. All of the major characters had great screen time and the Dean and El Tigre! Chino! rocked as ususal. Chang’s custom paintball gun was painted like a tiger! oh, details.

Surprisingly I liked the Jeff/Britta hook up because it was, well, a hook up. A “romance” between those two seems too far fetched but an occasional romp seems to fit their narcisism quite nicely. Maybe they’ll end up as a less predictable version of JD and Elliot from Scrubs with their once a season hook up. Works for me. Great episode!

By: George

05.07.2010 @ 7:34 PM

“…he said, fully erect.”

I loved this episode, but they need to spread out these types of self-contained parody episodes over the course of the entire season; they’re great fun and sure fire for laughs but that’s three in three weeks, and losing individuality.

I know that “Modern Warfare”, “The Art of Discourse” and “Contemporary American Poultry” were made to fill the extended 25 episode order, but I feel Harmon and co need to ration them.

On the Jeff/Britta front, I’m fine with the decision to put them together as Jacobs and McHale have developed some semblance of chemistry and ti doesn’t seem like the typical Will They/Won’t They? relationship and it served the parody extremely well.

As much as I loved the episode though, I feel the potential over reliance on meta/reference humour could grow tiresome next season and this mass fanfare could quickly turn to claims of unoriginality and laziness on the writers part.

A note-perfect pastiche, right up to Senor Montana (the douche who brings his own) and rightfully affirming Community’s place at the top of the comedy tree.

By: jjc

05.07.2010 @ 8:00 PM

Where were the doves during the John Woo sequence? Ah well, maybe next time.

By: Adam

05.11.2010 @ 4:12 AM

That was my react, too: “Where are the slow-motion birds?”

By: Redmond Barry

05.14.2010 @ 6:36 PM

Exactly what I was thinking. What a missed opportunity!

By: JimAbbott'sRightHandMan

05.07.2010 @ 11:34 PM

I didn’t like Chang’s “suicide paint bomb” at the end. After he made such a big deal of being a serious paint-baller, I didn’t like him trying to paint people after he’d already been eliminated.

By: Robert

06.15.2010 @ 12:48 AM

I’m very late to the party, but I just caught up with this episode using Time Warner’s on-demand channel for prime time shows (I missed recording it).

That was absolutely the funniest half-hour of TV I’ve seen in many, many years.